Wednesday, May 12, 2004

District Court cannot decide class certification issue based solely on allegations in complaint

In Gariety v. Shannon, the Fourth Circuit in an opinion by Judge Niemeyer, joined by Judge Shedd and Senior Judge Hamilton, held, among other things, that the trial court erred in disposing of the issue of whether to certify a class under Rule 23 by relying solely on the complaint and without making the requisite "findings" based on the evidence.